Pecs, Tats, Catholicism and Irish Heritage

I you are looking for workout inspiration or just a daily dose of the male form,
I’ll point you to On a Midnight Train
to Georgia. Every day, Matthew posts a couple pics of handsome, muscled
men that have me slowly developing an eating disorder. I’ve added a few of his
pics to my ‘workout inspiration’ folder on my hard drive. Recently, he featured
the handsomest picture of Orlando Bloom I’ve ever seen… (my sis is gonna love
this pic of him) usually he’s really femmed up in magazines these days (Ronstill wants to be Legolas and plays as him when ever we play Return
of the King on PS2… plus whenever we watch the LoTR movies he says: ‘Here
come the gay elves!’ before the battle of Helm’s Deep) But this pic doesn’t
even look like him (full
size pic from MegaStarCity).

Another
great picture is this one.

Got the latest of GQ which has may be the
most useful article I have ever seen in a glossy men’s magazine. They do an
entire photo shoot using clothing only from Target, K-Mart and Wal-Mart. Smart,
smart idea on their part and some nice style. When Karen and I were producingBruises we learned that you can outfit an entire play and set from Target
for under $100. And if you can’t find it at Target you probably don’t need it.
This of course, does not apply to Restoration, Moliere or Shakespeare revenge
tragedies. (much more on men’s mags below)

Tattoo shopping some more lately. I’ve been researching the heraldry and symbolism
behind my Irish heritage and the story of the Ui Briain clan in Ireland – notable
mostly for the rule of King Brian Boru in the eleventh century. I figured it
is much more sensible to research the symbols and mysitcism of my own hertiage
instead of using a glyph or expression from another culture. I’ve thought of
taking elements from the family shield –
the three lions – or the motto lamb laidir an uchtar (“the strong hand
uppermost”). Or the clan even has their
own Celtic knot. I’m trying to choose between an armband on the left arm
to compliment the solar icon on my shoulder or a dragon on the right upper arm.
I know my parents think I’m a nutcase for getting any tattoo in the first place
– and sometimes I wonder if I’m just being guided by marketing forces I cannot
see – that I’m being programmed to want/adorn myself with markings to achieve
some kind of image I’m buying into. But why can’t I just get one because I think
their cool, sexy and distinctive? Then yesterday I notice if I get an armband
I’ll have the same set of tattoos as Nick
Lachey from 98 Degrees and The Newlyweds. I need to get down to the
library and do some more research on the Ui Briain clan… if anyone has any
guidance on where to head first, lemme know (blogging librarians I’m looking
at you!). Regardless, I need to get the tattoo in the next month or so, so it
has time to season a bit and not stand out to fresh from my current one.

(from Feb 21) Ron is in Honolulu for about five days having his version of MTV
Spring Break. I told he needs to come back as dark as possible. You have to have contrast to be a successful multi-ethnic couple.

Had a coaching session downtown. Todd called and he now works at the same hotel
Brigitte does – only Brigitte didn’t know that Todd and I trained together for
coaching certification as well as Todd didn’t know that the Brigitte I talked
about was the one just down the hall. Brigitte’s worlds suddenly collided.

Felt a little sick the past two or three days. Nothing major – just sleepy
all the time.

I really sometimes enjoy not watching TV. I’m getting enough buzz about Mel
Gibson’s Christ movie without actually seeing previews or commercials
for it. I think that every artist has to portray iconic moments from their beliefs
in one way or another. I still look forward to directing Godspell similarly
to the way we did it in college – in a bombed out crackhouse with dumpsters,
teen runaways and child protistutes. It was a fun show to work on (I assistant
directed) since we turned the text on it’s ear but still came across with a
very holy sense of reverence towards the end. The Last Supper scene was absolutely
stunning with a female Jesus reciting a Jewish prayer. I still do want to write
the gospel according to me – I think everyone should write their own versin
of the gospel.

As I walked down Belmont past the Catholic Church I thought to myself: what
if the Church had remained as revolutionary today as it was in Roman days. If
Catholic nuns and priests were at the forefront of the civil rights movement,
condemning genocide instead of assisting the Nazi’s escape, opening marriage
to same-sex couples and recognizing the sanctity of two people – any two people
– to dedicate their lives in Christ for collaboration and love. In high school,
our religious studies classes took great pains to illustrate how the Pope’s
embracing of social justice was a major factor in the fall of evil Communism.
What if the Catholic Church was still revolutionary and a paragon of open-love
and acceptance for all people? Where the majesty of the art, music and architecture
of the church was matched by the majesty of an intense devotion to the love
of all humanity. And then I giggle when Ron and his friends talk about going
to the Sunday evening mass – that’s considered the Gay Mass – or at least the
Cruise-y Mass – where during Communion you might as well be serving Cosmopolitans
instead of the blood of Christ. I haven’t been to Church up here since last
summer when I had massive panic attacks between the first and second readings.
I did go to Christmas mass back home this year though.

The new anti-inflammatory meds are nice on the shoulder and ankle. I’ve started
getting back into doing very light cardio – on a bike – they said that that
was good because there was no chance of pounding the ankle. Wrote out my eating
for the week. I still have this mid-week slump where I just can’t focus or concentrate
come Thursday morning. It is partially if Iforget to turn the lights on before
I start the day so I end up sitting in low light most of the day. I’ll start
worrying when I find myself stroking my touchpad gurgling, “my precious…”

Saw Return of the King again – with Kevin and Kelly – and Ron – what
a total ball. We all met downtown for dinner. Kevin and Kelly have huge infectious
laughs by themselves but when they get together it is out of control – so much
fun. Kevin and I both remarked how the third movie opens with a tight closeup
shot of a worm. That’s just awesome. And the Gollum transformation sequence
is so great – you can tell Peter Jackson has a love of slimy, gory, bloody horror
flicks. The scenes of Serkis with Gollum prosthetics on are just inhuman looking…
and that line: “We even forgot our own name…” That line just sends
a chill down my back. And the scenes with the big elephant thingies – all the
details… all the arrows stuck in their hides as the battle progresses – and
the stomping of horses. So fanastic. I just keep picturing George Lucas over
at Skywalker Ranch in a constant tizzy in how to make the third Star Wars
movie have any relevance or impact after Peter Jackson’s depth charge of trilogy
movies the way they should be.

Very excited about getting comped into a coaching conference – plus, it gives
me an excuse to go see Karen. I’m guessing Ron will fly in to San Diego that
weekend so he can show off his Trophy White Boy to all of his friends.

What is Nader doing? I mean for God’s sake. He is a much better advocate than
a candidate and I was actually thinking that that would be a great flip for
Howard Dean – if he became an advocate – a thorn in the side of the Democrat
party.

Listening to Kerry’s speech from 30 years ago was just stunning. How often
is that kind of frank truth spoken in a public forum. And then Amy Goodman interviewed
one of the other soldiers that was part of that investigation – this guy laid
down on train tracks to prevent weapons from going into Central America and
has his legs torn off. This guy ripped into Kerry for supporting the Iraq war
and helping in signing over Congress’s powers to declare war over to the White
House. It will be a long time before we hear about the Iraq My Lai Massacres
which are happening as I write this – either renegade platoons on a power trip
or wholesale slaughtering of entire villages. We are killing people for money.
You really can’t get around that. The smartest thing I’ve read in a long time
is that these assholes don’t consider Vietnam a tactical failure – they consider
it a PR failure. It just wasn’t branded correctly. The slaughter of brown people
continues to enrich the pocketses of the whites. (on proofreading – good God
I’m on some kind of race-aware warpath today aren’t I!)

None of Bush’s family will ever know want or hunger for the rest of their lives
– for four generations they have gradually infiltrated various levels of government
to become a Dynasty of Deception. They will privatize everything and commodify
anthing. They don’t care – they have all the money they need. Never underestimate
the power of the rich to stay that way.

I just don’t get Details magazine. It was one of the monthly barrage
of magazines I choose in order to cash in some American Advantage miles. Now,
each month my mailbox is packed with glossy goodness: Entertainment Weekly,Wired, Details, GQ, Stuff, Fortune and Money.
And with Details and GQ I just don’t understand the gay-iety of
the magazines. Are they just polite magazines that closeted guys can have on
their coffeetables when the ‘rentals come to visit? Do straight men really care
about crystal meth and it’s connection to the re-emergence of HIV? Does anybody
really give a fuck about Prada? I mean Jesus. Something about their whole aesthetic
seems so sterile and antiseptic. I’m all for minimal but Listerine ain’t a mystique.
I’m such a fashion-dumbass though and gladly. I see all of Kenneth Cole’s faux-caring
ads and wonder when he’s going to do about all the people in the world’s shit-holes
that makes his clothes for him to jack up and flood the market. That would be
a Season of Caring. Or Marhsall Fields has a new campaign – they’ve decked out
a train stop with Miss Manner’s type sayings with a pomo twist. How about “Poor
people make your clothes. You paid way too much.” Back to Details.
I seriously wonder the discussion the brand managers have about appealing to
out readers, closeted readers and the fashion set. And Men’s Fitness
magazine- what happened? All the men’s health magazines (including, well, Men’s
Health) seem to be pulling back from the bold beefcake bodyshot cover that
makes the magazines attractive to 3/4 of the human population (that is, straight
guys who envy, gay/bi guys who lust and women who wish they could date it).
Trying to find that source of a marketing study where men – regardless of sexuality
– looked at male chests just as much as women when seeing adverts. Men’s
Fitness seems to be trying to have it’s Maxim and eat it too. They
keep putting some ultra-butch celebrity on the front – L. L. Cool J and Joe
Rogan who have great bodies being the first – but now it’s a guy that doesn’t
even look like he’s in shape. Last month it was this dickhead guy from some
TV show and this month it’s a guy with a white tank on and thinning hair – I
look better than him. It sucks cause Men’s Fitness used to have a lot
more research-based approach to the fitness rag than say Men’s Health
(notice: recent covers all the models are clothed). And it’s either that or
the seriously homosexualized fitness magazines like Men’s Workout (for
Men Only!), featuring some of the most over-air brushed femininos you can imagine
(hilarious article bout
fitness models turning up in gay porn videos). Or FitnessRX. And
then there’s Muscle Media which I like from time to time but the constant
EAS sell is just annoying. Okay, Bill Phillips you win, alright?

>>I need to get down to the library and do some more research on the Ui Briain clan… if anyone has any guidance on where to head first, lemme know (blogging librarians I’m looking at you!)

Yo Andy, what an interesting challenge! I have a history not only in Islam (see my recent blogpost) but also interestingly enough, in Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism. The maven of all mavens is Rowan Fairgrove, in San Jose, CA. She can be found here: http://www.conjure.com and if she doesn’t know it herself, she can point you to clan sigil experts who do. Much luck and you must post a pic of the tattoo when you get it done!

I am ont gay at all. I am totally strait. Remember that when i say that i want a body like mario lopez, brad pitt, jesse metcalfe, tom welling, tom brady, zac efron, fabio, etc. they are so sexy. they can make a strait guy like me realize that they are hot. they are so hot i want to do them. but i’m still strait. i’m serious if one them asked me to do them i would say yes.